One of the biggest obstacles we all face is pride. Even Willie Nelson admits struggling with it each time he sings the chorus “It’s hard to be humble when you’re perfect in every way.” Home Brands has a host of hard-charging, ambitious franchisees, and employees. These characteristics are essential to success; however, they must be partnered with our virtue of the week.
Home Brands exists to serve people and service homes. We cannot do this without humility being present every day. Our egos must be kept in check. We have summarized this virtue as not operating out of selfish ambition, but valuing others above ourselves. What does this mean on a practical level?
As we serve people, we are first serving those who work with and for us. We need to know our people, what their goals are, and what drives them. How do we fit their ambitions into our own? If we put our people first, we will be successful. Servicing homes requires us to put customer needs ahead of a specific margin. I am all for having high margins and being profitable, but not at the expense of our customers. We will achieve our mission by focusing on people, process, and profit…in this order.
Leading requires a humble boldness. Ego keeps us from honestly assessing our performance or that of our team. Pride makes it easy to point the finger at uncontrollable circumstances, other departments, and anyone but us. Humility drives us to owning our mistakes, weaknesses, and shortfalls. What do we, or better yet, what do I need to own up to that keeps me from serving others in a manner that transforms their lives?
